ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the success of last year's
inaugural Clean Energy Prize competition - conceived to help move clean energy
technologies from the laboratory to commercial production - DTE Energy and the
University of Michigan have broadened the scope of the competition. For Year
2, the rules have been changed to encourage participation from more Michigan
colleges and universities.
This year, teams are not required to include a U-M student. Any team with
student representation from a Michigan college or university is eligible. The
teams still are being challenged to develop the best business plan for
bringing a new clean energy technology to market. And again, the teams with
winning ideas will share $100,000 in prize money, to be awarded in the spring
of 2010.
Applications and details of the competition are available on the Clean Energy
Prize Web site: www.dtecleanenergyprize.com.
The competition was established by DTE Energy and the University of Michigan,
with support from the Masco Corporation Foundation and The Kresge Foundation,
to encourage entrepreneurship in Michigan and the development of clean-energy
technologies.
Algal Scientific Corp., comprised of business and engineering students from
U-M and Michigan State University, won the inaugural competition and earned
the top prize of $65,000. Algal's winning business plan was based on a
process that would use algae to simultaneously treat wastewater and produce
raw materials for biofuels. Algal and the Clean Energy Prize's second and
third place teams, Husk Insulation and Ikanos Power, went on to also win prize
money at several national clean technology business plan competitions.
"Our goal for the Clean Energy Prize is to drive promising ideas and
technologies from the research lab to commercialization," said Knut Simonsen,
president, DTE Energy Ventures. "Algal Scientific Corp. is now well on the way
to achieving that goal. We think their example, and the continuing progress
of the other teams that competed against them, will encourage a strong field
of teams to participate this year."
Simonson added, "Algal's decision to locate its business in Michigan supports
the competition's other goal of helping to reinvigorate a culture of
entrepreneurship in the state."
The U-M Ross School of Business' Ross Energy Club along with the Michigan
Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute and the Michigan Initiative for Innovation
and Entrepreneurship are organizing the competition. The prize organizers are
receiving support from several other University of Michigan entities,
including the college of engineering's Center for Entrepreneurship, the Zell
Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, and MPowered Entrepreneurship.
The competition is open to students from all Michigan colleges and
universities.
Gary Nye, one of the student leaders with the Ross Energy Club, said a key
development for the competition's second year is expanding its reach
throughout the state. "Modifying the rules this year to allow competition from
all Michigan universities provides two key advantages," Nye said. "First, it
helps provide a focused alliance within Michigan around clean energy. Second,
it provides an intensified competition to draw out the best talent and ideas
that Michigan has to offer."
Jeff Caveney, another Ross Energy Club student leader, said the competition
challenges students with divergent skill sets to work together to move
technology from the laboratory to the marketplace. "The Clean Energy Prize is
the perfect avenue for business and engineering students to gain experience
turning thought into action," Caveney said.
The competition requires that teams focus on business ideas that support
renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart grid technologies, environmental
control technologies, plug-in electric vehicles or energy storage.
The business plan entries will be judged by independent panels that will
include leaders from the venture capital, business, industry and academic
communities. The prize money rewards the winning teams with resources that
can help them further develop their ideas and ultimately start new businesses
that can contribute to Michigan's emerging role as a leader in clean energy.
DTE Energy Ventures is a DTE Energy company that invests in emerging energy
technologies and to date has invested more than $100 million in energy-related
companies and funds, making it one of the larger Michigan-based venture
capital operations. Information about DTE Energy Ventures is available at
www.dteenergyventures.com.
DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved
in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services
nationwide. Its operating units include Detroit Edison, an electric utility
serving 2.2 million customers in Southeastern Michigan, MichCon, a natural gas
utility serving 1.3 million customers in Michigan and other non-utility,
energy businesses focused on power and industrial projects, gas midstream,
unconventional gas production and energy trading. Information about DTE Energy
is available at www.dteenergy.com.
The Ross Energy Club is a group of talented business students who share an
interest in energy. REC promotes career development by providing a forum for
education about all aspects of business in the energy sector.
The Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute develops, coordinates and
promotes multidisciplinary energy research and education at U-M. Some 75
faculty in disciplines ranging from engineering to policy to environmental
science to urban planning are a part of the institute.
Michigan Initiative for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a consortium of all
fifteen Michigan public universities acting together strategically to foster a
new Michigan knowledge economy based on entrepreneurship and innovation. By
using the considerable resources of Michigan's institutions of higher
education, MIIE seeks to enhance the State's economic competitiveness and
stimulate growth.
SOURCE DTE Energy
Bernie DeGroat, U-M News Service, +1-734-647-1847, bernied@umich.edu; John J.
Austerberry, +1-313-235-8859, austerberryj@dteenergy.com, or Lorie N. Kessler,
+1-313-235-8807, kesslerl@dteenergy.com, both of DTE Energy
